Karim
We cross the stone bridge leading into the field.
"I don't want Morrow to get into any more trouble. Her suspension was cancelled because she just lost both her parents and her ho, but two strikes?"
I heave a heavy sigh.
"She's not coming back to the school. I'll take full responsibility for her while we're out there."
He gives a sideward glance.
"Don't you have your own problems to deal with? Do you have children?"
I smile.
"Yes. I have a daughter. Her birthday is tomorrow."
Ace stops walking.
"Does she know about her mother?" He asks.
I stop as well. "She doesn't. And I intend to keep it that way until I am completely certain that she is dead."
"Where is she staying right now?" He asks.
I look at him, raising a brow.
"Portugal. Why?"
"Just asking. If you get expelled soon enough, you can celebrate her birthday with her."
Oh. I could, but do I want to?
"How does the system work? Would I be sent to the exact place I had been picked up from?"
Ace nods.
"That ans we'll all be split up." I sum up.
"Not just that. We co from different parts of the world - we might never regroup in ti."
"Is there anything we can do about it?"
He shrugs. "I don't know for sure. They put each student to sleep with a potion, then convey you safely ho."
"What if we don't drink it?"
He raise a questionning brow. "How would we not drink it? They are literally in your face, watching your throat movent."
I resu walking.
The night is pitch black, but with a few shimrs of stars. Wind toys with my hair, taking it on a wild rry dance.
No sound can be heard from the school in the distance. All windows are bereft of light - not a single beam can be seen.
"I don't know, Ace. There's nothing normal about our situation - so I urge you to prepare yourself to break a whole lot of school rules." With that, we split up, each heading to our dorms.
As soon as I open the door, my roommate's snoring fills the room, deafening.
I switch on the light. I won't have to bear with it from tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, I haven't inford Furuno of our new plans.
I head out of the room in search of him.
On my second knock, the door opens. His roommate stands there wearing a two-piece pajamas with teddy bears imprinted on it.
He waves his phone at , eyes bloodshot, yawning.
"He's not here. Don't know when he'll be back." He makes to close the door.
I jam my feet at the threshhold, keeping the door open.
"Tell him to co see as soon as he gets back."
The roomie nods absently and slams the door shut.
I leave with a grunt, sliding down the stairs like a shadow.
I hear the lazy footfalls of soone ascending the stairs.
Curious to know which student would be out at this ti, I peer down.
It's too dark to make out the person's features.
I descend to the next landing. Furuno stands before . Through the dim hallway lighting, I can see him well enough. His hands are dark with… blood? Even his face and jacket are streaked with the sa slick liquid.
What the hell had he been doing?
He ets my gaze with shifty eyes.
What I had intended to say flies from my mind.
"What happened?" I ask, inserting myself in the middle of the path to prevent him to evading .
"I don't know myself. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"
I fold my arms across my chest.
"How can I just ignore the fact that there's blood on your hands? There's a lot going on with you that just doesn't add up."
He rubs his eyes.
"Is there sothing you ca for? New mber?"
"Don't try to change the subject. Tell exactly what's going on with you. Isn't that what friends are for?"
His eyes soften.
"I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, I just need to shower and sleep." He says, not eting my gaze.
Did he kill soone?
"We're all getting expelled tomorrow. I don't know, but we have to leave the school as soon as possible. eting at dawn in the library."
His eyes dart to mine briefly.
"I will. Are you done now?"
Sighing, I move aside for him to pass. He just slips through without a glance in my direction.
—
At exactly dawn the next day, I drag myself along the halls leading to the library. I had stopped at Praisch's door last night to inform him of the eting. He had promised to inform the girl's for .
I only pass two students on my way there.
The library doors are ajar.
I peer in. The janitor has taped the entrance.
"Co back later!" She calls out, her voice muffled through her face mask.
"We've been waiting for you. You're thirty minutes late. Slept in?"
I turn around slowly.
"If you attempt to startle from behind one more ti, you may not live to tell the tale." I mutter.
Safari's eyes widen in shock.
"I didn't an to startle you. Ace sent to call you. We're waiting over there." She says, pointing at the mini stadium.
"Okay." I respond, regretting my impulsive words.
I follow her. She is wearing a purple sweater over her uniform, her dreads tucked inside the cloth.
Once, she glances over her shoulder nervously - probably to see if I'm following.
I realize that things would remain awkward if I don't apologize.
"Um…Safari?" I call.
She spins around, wary.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just hate being startled."
The words cos out easier than I had expected.
She smiles. "Apologizing is not your strong suit. You and Furuno have that in common." She says lightly.
"Yeah. I've never really had to apologize much because I don't deal with people often."
She raises a brow, but doesn't ask any questions.
"I don't think Furuno would show up - and I'm praying that he doesn't."
"Why?"
"You haven't heard what happened yesterday?"
How the hell would I hear about it? I glance at the fields to hide my expression.
A few students are walking by, books in hand.
The skies looks gloomy, hinting of doom - rain and sothing darker.
"Heard what?" I finally ask.
She clears her throat.
"Furuno is getting really scary these days. Yesterday, he shoved my off the rooftop balcony. I almost died."
Heck!
"I'm not kidding when I say that I saw my life flash before my eyes. Morrow managed to slow my fall long enough for people to catch . He may attack again, or soone else."
It doesn't make any sense.
"Did you provoke him in any way?"
"None that I know of. It's like he just snapped - one mont everything is okay, then, the next I'm hanging on for my dear life. I have never been more afraid before."
"No one told . That sounds terrible." I say, finally finding my voice.
She just nods absently, lost in her own thoughts.
I can see a small cluster of people seated on the front seats. That must be them.
As we get closer, their faces beco more visible.
Praisch, Morrow and Ace. Where's Furuno and Angela?
"Where's Angela?" I ask.
Safari shrugs. "We didn't see her this morning. When we knocked on her door for a while and she didn't respond, we just assud she was out on an errand. She's usually like that - disappearing for long periods of ti without a trace."
Morrow just nods in agreent.
She looks pale, I notice.
"Are you alright?" I ask her, concerned.
She looks up at .
"Ace told us everything. We're leaving soon, aren't we?"
I just nod.
"If you're scared, you can stay back."
"It's not that," she sniffs loudly. "I'm just not prepared to go ho… or to whatever is left of it."
Praisch rubs her back.
"She said her parents were killed." He tells , his voice laced with sympathy.
I'm glad she opened up to them - I was beginning to wonder when she'd co clean.
Ace, dressed as impeccably as always, watches quietly. A normal person would squirm under his scrutiny.
"Have you tried calling Angela?" I ask, avoiding any ntion of Furuno for Safari's sake.
Morrow shows her screen.
"I've called about twenty tis - no response. She's probably on DND."
A question suddenly pops up.
"When was the last ti you saw her yesterday?"
Morrow and Safari exchange glances.
"After the Furuno incident. She left not long after he did. And she didn't even ntion where she was going."
My stomach sinks.
I have to find her to be sure.
"Don't worry about her, she'd turn up. She might even be right here, pranking us."
I try listening for quiet breathing - nothing.
Birds squawk overhead, disrupting my concentration.
"Tell us what you have to say. We'll relay it to them later. Classes are about to start."
I shake my head to clear my thoughts.
"Break every rule in the book."
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